What struck me most about this interview is not the admittedly fascinating series of events around the video, but Colbert’s attitude toward those events. It would be no surprise if he was mad at how his plans for the show were continually undercut – but instead, he viewed the situation as an opportunity. The word he uses most frequently in describing the making of the video is joy. He says,

I found the whole thing joyful. It was exhausting to do in a day, but I remember we all said, “Yippee!! Look at what we get to do!”….We always want to approach the show from an emotional state, and it was really exciting and such a gift. Around one o’clock [on the day of the show] when it was possible that we might still get [Daft Punk], I was like, oh, I don’t know what to do now if they come on, because I’m so excited about the possibility of doing this.

Looking at your work as joy, instead of as an obligation or a burden, is a different and wonderful way to think. Obviously not everyone’s work is all sunshine and unicorns – and Colbert, as someone in a well-paid and interesting job, might have an easier time than others in finding joy in his work. But his perspective is still a very valuable one. Viewing your work not as something that you have to do, but as something that you get to do, is a way to remind yourself that you have choices, that you’re blessed to have opportunities, and that your work can be positive even when what you’re working on is challenging or difficult.

I was also very impressed that Colbert generously shares the credit for managing the “beautiful train wreck”, as he calls it, and for its wildly successful outcome. In this end-of-year interview with Entertainment Weekly magazine about the video, he says,

I’m so proud that my staff was so nimble to pull something new together in such a short period of time on top of doing this ambitious video. Everybody in the building pulled together to make it happen.

That’s an admirable attitude, too – giving credit where credit is due, which doesn’t happen as often as it should in the entertainment industry, or in many workplaces for that matter. I’m a big fan of Colbert’s show, and now I’m a big fan of how he thinks and works as well.